Agents from Taiwan and the Philippines jointly raided an underground drug factory in Manila on Thursday night, the Philippines' National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) told a press conference yesterday.
A 61-year-old Taiwanese man identified as Wu Tsu-chuan (吳子泉) and two Chinese men were arrested in the raid after being under surveillance since January, when the NBI received a tip-off from Taiwan, bureau investigators said.
It was the first successful operation of its kind between the two countries.
Apart from arresting the three men and seizing manufacturing equipment, agents from the two countries also confiscated 5.7kg of finished amphetamine, 36.2kg of liquefied amphetamine and 70 buckets of chemicals from the apartment the gang occupied in a Manila slum.
The seized drugs had a combined market value of NT$140 million (US$4.1 million), authorities said.
The three suspects who were taken into custody cannot be released on bail because they are suspected of producing dangerous narcotics and could face a life sentence if convicted.
In recent years, Taiwanese and Philippine judicial and investigative authorities have stepped up their cooperation in cracking down on cross-border crime because of their geographic proximity.
In March, the NBI dispatched a group of agents to study drug detection techniques in Taiwan.
Last year, the bureau also held Chinese-language courses for its drug investigation officers.
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